WY Sees More Physicians Licensed To Practice In State

The Wyoming Board of Medicine says a record number of physicians received licenses to practice in Wyoming last year. The Board of Medicine’s Kevin Bohnenblust says 35 more physicians were licensed when compared to 2012 numbers, and overall they saw 15-percent more doctors compared to 2009. He says that’s due to a new, simplified licensing process and the fact that many doctors include non-traditional approaches, such as telemedicine, in their practices.

“It started with just radiology and pathology, but then we’ve seen it move into things like psychiatry, ICU monitoring, and different specialties. So as each specialty adapts there are more physicians who want to practice that way. And more patients are comfortable with it too,” Bohnenblust says.

While only 40-percent of newly licensed doctors typically move to Wyoming, Bohnenblust says many have clinic hours in the state and have temporary staffing arrangements with health care facilities. He says that’s led to improved care for people in the state.

Cheyenne Regional Medical Center is heading a statewide effort called Enroll Wyoming to help people get health insurance through the new online marketplace. The program has trained navigators across the state, including in Jackson where St. John's Medical Center and Teton County Library have teamed up to offer individualized sessions, designed to guide community members through healthcare.gov. Wyoming Public Radio's Rebecca Huntington has more.

JULIE: I don't have Internet service myself, and so I was concerned about how I'm going to, you know, fill out this Obamacare insurance.

A central mandate of the Affordable Care Act is getting health care professionals to communicate across disciplines. A conference Thursday at the University of Wyoming brought health care leaders together to talk about how to better train students for doing that.

Brenda Zierler with the Center for Health Sciences at the University of Washington was one of the conference leaders. She says it’s time to move past the old paradigm in which nurses, social workers and psychologists all learn their crafts in isolation.

A study by the Government Accountability Office – or GAO - shows that it takes over one year for the Indian Health Service to process payments to contractors in 8-percent of claims.

The Indian Health Service provides limited medical services to tribal members and outsources other treatments through the contract health services program. The GAO’s Kathleen King says some payments are delayed because decisions about whether IHS will pay for a service are made on a case-by-case basis.